On November 1st, 2023, the U.S. Senate passed the FY2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Act (MilCon-VA).
This legislation includes an amendment that aims to protect veterans’ access to emergency transportation and ambulance services without disruption by blocking a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) policy set to begin in February 2024 that would reduce reimbursement rates for emergency ambulance services.
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, a sponsor of this amendment, explained how the amendment will benefit veterans, stating, “This amendment makes certain that veterans across the nation will continue to receive lifesaving care and transportation without disruption over the next year.”
Senator Moran further elaborated that by stopping the aforementioned VA policy set to begin in February 2024, “We will allow more time for VA to do its due diligence in creating reasonable and commonsense parameters for resetting reimbursement rates for these lifesaving services.”
The MilCon-VA bill passed 82-15 in the Senate with bipartisan support. In addition to Moran’s amendment, this bill aims to expand emergency transportation access in rural areas, construct housing and childcare centers for military families, and increase funding by $2.3 billion for veterans’ mental health care.